Kelso Meets World

Kelsey Becker.     This is my life.    Instagram: @kelseybeckerimages

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Our Italy Trip

It is September of 2019 and we had no clue what we were in for when traveling all over the country of Italy! The start of our trip was a bit bumpy as it took us a couple tries to figure out the train system there but once we got to our first destination, Cinque Terre, we were not disappointed.

In this video you see that we travel to Cinque Terre, Modena, Venice, Florence, Naples, and Rome. It was amazing to see all those major cities in Italy (and exhausting)! The sun was shinning everyday, the food was incredible, and the views were breath taking. I would go back in a heart beat to discover even more!

I hope you enjoy this short clip I stitched together.

All footage is taken by myself and processed through iMovie, the music is from Youtube. Thanks!

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Gaze Up

There is the most detailed architecture I have ever seen in my life in Barcelona, you just got to look up to see it! All the amazing structures stand so tall and seem more and more intricate as your eyes reach the top. Most of these buildings are churches and you cannot find anything like these in North America so I was simply stunned. Going through my photos I was not pleased with what I captured because I truly could not capture the beauty that I was seeing with my eye. There were many times I put my camera down to process what was in front of me. I guarantee if I went back to these spots I would see so many details I missed the first time around. 

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Opening the Window to Barcelona

Traveling alone can be a stress-testing mountain to climb but the view is worth it!

October 28th I left by train from Amsterdam Centraal Station heading to Paris where I connect to a different train to take me to Barcelona. Sounds simple right? An easy day full of views of France out my window. NOPE. Being a young American girl who has only traveled by plane before assumed (don’t ever assume) that in Paris where I got off the train, I would already be in the train station I needed to be in for my next ride. Turns out I had to go to another train station 20 minutes away by metro. Needless to say, I missed my train to Barcelona. I was freaking out! Luckily, a nice lady looked up flights on her phone for me as it would be cheaper and I would make it there around the same time I would have by train. I decided to go that route. I took a taxi to the airport and was extremely bummed I was not going to see all of France in my travels like I had planned. But I always try to look at the positives in every situation; my positive remark was that I did get to see the Eiffel Tower from the sky! By time I got to Barcelona the sun was down and all I could see was the city lights. I was so eager to wake up to the view of the city from my Airbnb.

The morning of the 29th I woke just as the sun was rising. I turned away from the window at first as I was going to continue sleeping. Then my eyes opened wide and I thought “I’m in Barcelona! I need to see it real quick...then I can keep sleeping!” Haha! So I opened my window to the view you see in the photo here. I smiled as I thought about the hell I went through to get here, but it was totally worth it.

And then the adventures in Barcelona began...

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Amsterdam in 2 Minutes and 25 Seconds 

Capturing Amsterdam was fun and eye opening to a completely different way of life. This city is moving forward with the world and succeeding at it. I loved being a part of the walking crowd, right next to the bikes. You have to watch out for those bikes! All the canals the Holland people built by hand create a gorgeous, constant flow and movement within the city. Experiencing a different culture than your norm is hard to explain to someone. My best advice, go see it with your own eyes!

Here’s a short video of some of my favorite sights in Amsterdam. Enjoy! 

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Surprise Carnival

After being in Amsterdam for about a week I finally decided it was time to visit the Dam Square. I knew there were some really important monuments and buildings around that area as it was one of the oldest areas of the city. I wanted to check it out all light up at night because I knew I’d see it in daylight when I went on the walking tour. So I made my way down to the Dam Square and was surprised to see there was a carnival going on! I had no idea! 

It was such a fun surprise for me as I had always wanted to shoot a carnival but never wanted to bring my camera along for the ride in the past. I didn’t bring any cash with me so I wasn’t going to enjoy any rides this night and took full advantage and just started shooting away. 

As you can see in the first two photos I played around with long exposures of the rides. Then I wanted to focus on the people. Everyone was smiling, laughing, taking selfies, and filming friends. I took some video footage to share later as well.

What I really loved about shooting the carnival was the vibrant colors. They really know how to draw attention. I just imagined the view at the top of the ferris wheel of the city. I smelt the fried food and weed (since it is legal there of course) which was quite the combination for my nose. I simply had fun watching the other people have fun. What a great surprise! 

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Rijksmuseum Walk-Through Water Fountain 

Right as the museum was about to close I saw this water fountain that had many different timed out patterns to it so people can walk through it without getting wet (as long as you paid attention). I took these long exposures to show movement in the frames. I thought it was a fun way to end your visit to such a unique museum.

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Rijksmuseum closes for the night // Walks through the garden on the way out

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Plant life in the Netherlands

Nothing much to say here, just wanted to share some of my favorite flower and leaf shots I took in Amsterdam.

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I Have Nothing to Wear...

European fashion is something I have studied for years flipping through magazines and looking online, but seeing it first hand is a different experience. Getting ready to board the tram to head into the center of Amsterdam each person has a different look. In this post I am focused on woman’s fashion, but the men dress unique here as well.

So the other day I decided I was going to do a little shopping and thought it would be fun to bring my camera along. I tried on some fun outfits, did not spend too much money, and just enjoyed stopping in pretty much every shop I came across. I took enough photos to fill an album book but narrowed it down to a few favorites to share with you.

One thing I found really cool about the higher-end shops was the price tags. As shown in this photo, the store provided not only the price in Euros, but also in 8 other currencies. Of course I stuck with Euros as it was the best price on most items.

Studs, furs, and leather. Neutral, pastels, and metallics. You name it, it was there. I had fun just touching everything! There was literally something for everyone where ever you chose to look. This is why I see the locals each dressed so differently. European fashion has no limits and zero judgement. Such a creative part of the world!

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This Building in Amsterdam is Unreal

Right around the corner from where I was first staying in this beautiful city was this majestic building that I instantly fell in love with. I purposely walked pass it almost everyday. I took digital and polaroid photos but here I am sharing only digital. Many people walk under the archways in between the pillars and admire this building as part of their everyday commute.

The second day I walked past this building I realized it was a school for young Jewish boys. How cool! I really love how Amsterdam is a giant melting pot inviting people from all over the world of every ethnic background to come together in this city. This school is just one example of that.

It took me about a week to really open my eyes and see that not everyone here is Dutch. And even though every language sounds like mumbo-jumbo to me, I am starting to really listen and notice that every couple people are speaking a different dialect. But as soon as I speak to someone they try their best at English and are never rude about helping me. Which I appreciate more than I can show. Overall, this mixed city is just a place you’d have to experience first hand to fully comprehend.

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Bikes on Bikes on Bikes.

If there is one major different you can notice right away between America and Europe is the use of transportation. For most Americans, whether we have to go to the store to pick up milk or go see a movie in the theater, we get in our cars and go. We drive everywhere. Maybe if you live in a big city you will ride the bus or walk, but according to the United States Department of Transportation 91% of Americans drive a personal vehicle to get where they need to go. You’ll find that percentage extremely lower in all of Europe.

Here in Amsterdam about 30% of Dutch commuters always travel by bicycle, and an additional 40% bike to work, according to World Watch Institute study. Thats a total of 70% of people on bikes everyday and from my observations I would guess about 20% walk or take the tram and 10% actually get in a car in drive.

I shot these photos of bikes the first day I got here. I was just amazed! I have seen old people, young people, children, and adults with kids on their bike in every part of this city. And because of the way these people commute, they are in great health. It is rare to see anyone overweight here in Europe and ZERO obese people. This is something I wish I could say in America, but we all know that is far from true.

This is a very different way of life than I am use to back home and I have to say I enjoy it very much. Although it is so new for me I am just focusing on not getting hit by a biker! They do not slow down or move for walkers, just yell at you “GET OUT THE WAY, COMING THROUGH!” So always watch where you’re walking here! :)

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Intro to my adventures in Amsterdam

Hallo! (hello in dutch haha)

So here is my first video of the process of traveling from my home to Amsterdam. My sisters and I left for a long car ride to Chicago around 10:30am on Monday, October 16th and my flight was at 5:40pm so we arrived in the city early enough to get lunch together as my final meal until I arrived overseas. I finally landed in Amsterdam around 11am Tuesday, October 17th. I got enough sleep on the plane to last me til about 8pm when I called it quits and went to bed haha! 

I won’t lie, I did call my mom crying when I was waiting for my luggage because everyone told me “Don’t worry, everything is written in English and everyone you talk to will know english” and that was only true to an extent. My first priority was to get a new SIM card for my phone so I could use it overseas without paying a ton with Verizon’s international plan. Yes everyone I asked for help from was very kind and understood me but I didn’t exactly understand them. So it was scary as first. Especially when I tried to look up stuff on the internet and everything was in dutch! I can’t google translate the whole webpage. So I freaked out a bit, but once I got my phone working correctly I calmed down and made my way to my airbnb which was an adventure in itself!

First off, most Americans travel by car or bus. Here I was told to take the train to Slooterdijk Station (couldn’t pronounce when trying to buy ticket so that was embarrassing) then from there get on the tram to Admiral De Ruyterweg (even worse as pronouncing) and there is the street of the place I am staying. When I got off I was standing in the bike lane and almost got ran over then just started walking with all my luggage hoping I was heading the right way. Good news, I was. And I found the place within a couple minutes.

Then I showered and explored with my camera in hand around the streets near where I was staying and found a place to eat. After I had a full belly I knew it was time to go to bed. Today I am well rested and ready to see much more!

Hope you all enjoy this video! Thanks for the support!

[kelsomeetsworld]

All Packed & Ready To Go --->

Today is October 15th. Tomorrow I head to Chicago O’Hare Airport and depart for Amsterdam Schiphol Airport. There is a small layover in Iceland but I will not be there long enough to see anything cool besides my terminal. My nerves are out of control!! I am so excited to share my adventure with you all.

My photos today show what I have packed for this trip. I especially wanted to share what camera gear I have decided to bring with me. I have a Polaroid SX-70, Polaroid 600, 35mm Canon film camera, and my DSLR Canon 6D with a 85mm and 24-105mm lens. I bought my polaroid film with The Impossible Project through amazon and my 35mm film online through B&H Photo. I also have my Canon 600EX-RT Speedlite flash just in case (I really do not use flash often) along with my tripod. And lastly, I could not forget multiple SD Cards and batteries to keep me shooting at all times!

I am hoping to step outside of my comfort zone on this trip and take many self portraits and candids of the people and places surrounding me. I can’t wait for the process to begin and for you all to come along with me! Let the fun begin tomorrow!

[kelsomeetsworld]

Hello World.

My name is Kelsey Becker. Today is my first official blog post as I relaunch my new blog called Kelso Meets World. The purpose of this blog is to share my adventures as I get ready to travel outside of the United States for the first time in my life. I am getting ready to travel to Amsterdam and down to Barcelona just for fun! I am a professional photographer and I am looking for job opportunities and inspiration through these travels. This is just the beginning. I am looking for big things to happen in my future and I am going to bring you with me!

This blog will share my photos and experiences in Europe and anywhere else I go from there. I hope you follow along because it is going to be lots of fun! I love feedback and advice, so feel free to message me or leave comments. I am excited to see what life presents me! Let’s go!